Proves one thing right, the thing one can be certain about Moore's comic book universe – you can't just read his stuff flipping through the pages and running down the storyline at the speed of light – oh no, he requires you to crack them, read every word, suffer through it in a sense. From Hell is the best example of a great but difficult to read masterpiece of his.

A funny observation for trash movie fans – for a person unfamiliar with the Swamp Thing character, I do have to admit that Troma's no less iconic Toxic Avenger looks kinda like him.

All in all, that's another Moore's superhero novel like Watchmen or V for Vendetta (actually, written well ahead of both) that doesn't have a chewing gum effect at all – vice versa, you dig your teeth in and you work it, like you would with a proper rib eye – and unless you have bloody gums or heartburn, you should like it.

It took me about 2 or 3 years or so to decide that I have to read Alan Moore's From Hell and buy it. Well, my original deliberation was largely due to the fact that I disliked the film based upon it. And then another 2 years or so to actually read it – well, after I've bought it again on ComiXology for iPad.

It is a grand read. Complex and difficult at the beginning, but drawing you in and growing pace once you've dived in. Jack The Ripper story linked with the Queen, with a mix of history and the Freemasons. Absolutely grand. Now forms part of my Moore's must-read list of three – Watchmen as the crown jewel, V for Vendetta and this. No doubt, Moore's ability to spin the story is amazing – you find new angles and links all the time.

Given the ugliness of the Whitechapel murders, Eddie Campbell's raw colorless drawings fit the story perfectly.One big recommendation though – reading it in e-version and not paper is essential. Lots of smallish fonts which are much easier to follow in guided panel view than on a page.